The One Thing You Need to Know
Book Review
"The One Thing You Need to Know" by Marcus Buckingham
Free Press, a division of Simon and Schuster, 2005
Bob Feitl
Quick ... what's the single key difference
between checkers and chess? Both have two players,
alternating moves, the same board and both need advanced
strategic thinking ... now if you are already saying, hey I
know, it's obvious, then according to Buckingham you have an
innate gift that would propel you naturally into highly
effective management. In typical Buckingham style he hacks
away all the surrounding stuff to bore down to that one thing that is at the heart of a great manager, leader or
sustained individual success. Fast reading, filled with stories
and backed with the credibility of Gallup Organization research,
this book convincingly unearths a core principle at the heart of
each of these three fundamental arenas of effective
organizational administration.
So what's the answer? I hate to tell you because the
book is so rich in substance that giving only the conclusions seems to
short-change the author's giftedness. But since this is a book
review so, here it is ... in chess the pieces have different moves! The
great managers of today know one thing ... "How to
Discover What is Unique About Each Person and Capitalize on It."
Building organizations around the unique strengths and giftedness of
each individual is the best managers greatest tool.
Want to get to the core of leadership? The one thing a
leader must do is the opposite of what a manager must do ... "Discover
What Is Universal and Capitalize on It." Anthropologists have concluded
that all cultures have 5 human universals. Unfairly distilling them into
a list they would be: the need for security, for clarity, for authority
and for respect. The leader's job must in some ways lean into each of
these organizational needs, but at the heart of it the one
thing a leader must address is the need for clarity above all else.
Understanding how this fleshes out through asking the question "who do
we serve?" is worth the price of the whole book on its own.
Want to understand how to have sustained "success"? Success here being
defined as making the greatest possible impact over the longest period
of time. Then you must be a 20 percenter! A what? According to Gallop
research only 20% of people report that they are in a role where they
have a chance to do what they do best every day. Are you a 20 percenter?
If not, the one thing you need to know is simply "Discover
What You Don't Like Doing and Stop Doing It". Yikes! I
love that answer and I hate that answer all at the same time. It's too
simple on the surface and too difficult to accomplish! But the author
doesn't leave you wondering he deals directly with the common contenders
for getting at the answer and, not surprisingly, concludes that
understanding your natural strengths (his second book) is the ONE thing
that will allow you to actually become a 20 percenter.
Buckingham has a unique gift to see through the haze, challenge the
conventional and end with conclusions that are immediately convincing
because they are clear, simple, logical and true. They really appeal to
an "Administrator!" I loved his first book when it hit the market and I
walked around my office yelling ... "finally, somebody got it right!"
"First, Break all the Rules" sold 1.6 million copies though he is
probably best known for his second book "Now, Discover Your Strengths"
which set the foundation for hiring and management practices in some of
today's best companies and churches. He was a highlight for me when I
heard him at the Catalyst Conference in 2006 and "The One Thing ..."
does not disappoint in providing yet another layer on his well proven
principles of building people and organizations around their natural
(God given) talents and strengths while wrapping the concepts of all
three books into this third culminating work.
Whether you want to hone your management skills, grasp one additional
principle to lead well, or simply want to be sure you can sustain
effectiveness over the long term, a full read of this book is well worth
your time.
